


rubble

by damnmysterytome



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: (she's not), F/M, Frank has his last words with Karen, Reverse Angst, and assumes she's dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 07:25:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6414430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damnmysterytome/pseuds/damnmysterytome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She wants to keep them calm – but it’s hard when she’s terrified of dying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	rubble

Karen's doing all that she can to stay calm and keep the few survivors in the basement stuck with her that everything is going to be okay. She knows she’s trapped and she knows that they’re probably not going to get out. But she doesn’t want to freak out the people with her, it’s only a small group and it’s mostly older people that lived in the building. She wants to keep them calm – but it’s hard when she’s terrified of dying. There’s so much Karen hasn’t done, so much Karen hasn’t said.

Movement outside what used to be the door brings Karen to the rubble and she looks through a small hole between some of the rubble and her heart stops when she sees Frank. What in the hell is he doing there? Did he have a death wish? “Frank!” Karen’s voice doesn’t get very loud, there’s dust and debris surrounding her.

He can barely hear her, but the noise catches his attention. And he’s probably never felt more relieved and terrified all at once in his life.

“You got yourself stuck in an interesting situation, ma'am.”

“Shut up, Frank.” Her voice cracks and he looks through the hole as much as he can, seeing her in the trapped room. She looks smaller than he’s ever seen – and that’s not just because he can only see her through a small hole. “What you doing here?”

“I heard about what happened over my police scanner.” Frank explains, pressing his hand against the rubble. When he’d heard of the building Nelson and Murdock was located exploding, he had come to the building without a second thought for himself. He knew that coming there would surely get him arrested, but he had to know. He had to know if Karen was in the building. Some of it falls and he wipes his hand off on his pants. “You doing okay?”

“I’m scared,” Karen admits. She glanced back at the other people in the basement with her and then back to Frank. “No one’s coming are they?”

“Karen..” The use of her name tells her everything that she needs to know and she shuts her eyes, taking a deep breath.

Karen sniffles and brings a hand to her face, lowering her head for a moment. “Frank, I need you to do somethings for me.” Karen says as she looks back up at him. She doesn’t want for him to go on before she continues talking. “I need you to tell Matt and Foggy it’s okay. I need you to tell them to restart the firm, we were doing good work. And they need each other, even if they won’t admit.” Karen’s crying and Frank is trying his hardest not to cry. He will not cry. “And tell Matt… I forgive him. He’ll know what for. Tell him to call my parents and tell them I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Frank asks.

“For not coming home after Kevin died.” Karen leans against the door and shuts her eyes. They’ve been down there for hours and Karen’s so tired she just wants to lie down on the floor and fall asleep. That’d be the way to go. “Don’t stop being the Punisher. The world needs you, even if it doesn’t realize it.” She opens her eyes and presses her hand against the door. “But you are not the monster that they say you are.”

“You sure about that, ma'am?”

“More sure than I have ever been about anything. Now get out of here.” Karen pleads. Frank doesn’t budge, instead he looms by the door. “Frank, please. Just go! Go!”

* * *

When Karen wakes up in a hospital bed, for a brief moment she wonders if she’s dead and this is heaven. But why is heaven a hospital room?

She looks around and sees Foggy sitting in a chair and she swallows. “Foggy..” She gasps.

Foggy looks up when he hears her voice and he stands to his feet, rushing to her side. “Karen,” He says, a smile forming on his face. She reaches for the water on her end table and Foggy gives her hand, moving the cup to her lips and tipping it back.

She looks around the hospital room, but Matt isn’t anywhere to be found. “Where’s Matt?”  _If Frank didn’t pass my message along to them, I swear to God, I will -_

“He’s out trying to find answers about what happened to the building. He thinks it was a bomb.” Foggy explains. “Fire department is saying gas leak, but Matt doesn’t believe it.”

“Did you get my mes -”

“Yeah, we got your message from Frank. No ones seen him since then.”

“Does he know I’m -”

“He didn’t seem to when he kidnapped Matt and I to deliver your message.”

“Will you let me finish a -”

“I’m just trying to help you keep your strength.”

* * *

Karen stays in the hospital for another week until she’s discharged and the first thing she starts doing is looking for Frank. He changes safe houses so often and never goes back to one twice that it’s hard to find him. It takes her another few weeks to track him. She’s out of work for the time being until she’s completely healed up, so she can’t leave him any kind of hint that she’s alive. Even if she did, who knows that he’d end up getting to read it?

It’s hard for Karen to walk as many steps as she has to to get to Frank’s apartment and for her sake, he better be home. She’s just about to knock on the door when the door opens and it’s Frank. He’s dressed as The Punisher, clearly about to go out. He’s stunned to see her, he had assumed that she was dead.

Frank doesn’t say anything to her, he grabs her face and pulls her mouth against his and kisses her with everything that he has.

 

 


End file.
